


hell's blessings

by jenomeow



Series: praying to the devil for god to hear me [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Demon Hunters, Alternate Universe - Demons, Blood and Violence, Ghosts, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Character Death, Team as Family, it says yutae in the tags but..., not that much romance tbh, see the notes for more specific tw, well haha you'll see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:08:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25700071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenomeow/pseuds/jenomeow
Summary: Kun is a demon hunter traveling across the country killing demons with his team and Ten is a single dad raising three adopted children (read: demons) in a small town
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta
Series: praying to the devil for god to hear me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899046
Comments: 27
Kudos: 115
Collections: Foreign NCT 1





	hell's blessings

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning for: violence, blood, kidnapping, ouija board (they use it in a funny way tho), implied ptsd, corpses and ghosts, anxiety attacks, heavy trauma, injuries. i talk a lot about what happens when you lose someone you considered your family
> 
> it sounds worse than what it actually is tbh the kids are fine the main characters are all alive no one dies (the minor character death tag is for characters that are already dead so) but i do mention all of this so pls keep it in mind. however, i don't think this is a very serious fic at all hehe
> 
> anyway!!! MY BETA AAAAAA I LOVE YOU!!!! everyone pls know she helped me SO MUCH she gave me so many ideas and actually the whole climax was thanks to her <33 you're always the best but this time you outdid yourself mi amor *u*
> 
> aaaaaa it was hard to write this and my friends saw me struggle w this fic in my priv for like,,,, so long but here is it ! pls enjoy :D
> 
> prompt 39

“Team 2, clear,” he says quietly. He hears Johnny’s hum in response.

Kun looks at the cafe from a distance, his invisibility coat preventing him from being discovered. He can feel Dejun move nervously behind him. They just need to wait a bit more.

“Team 1, in position,” Yuta says through the telepathic channel. With the snipers ready they shouldn’t have to wait longer than one minute more.

“Go!” Johnny instructs.

Sicheng and Yukhei quickly enter the cafe and then Kun and Dejun follow, taking their coats off. The place is empty except for two customers and the man behind the counter. It’s a nice place of warm-colored walls, but Kun doesn’t have time to think about the decoration of the place while he’s looking for demon traces. There’s so much presence but he can’t spot the demon; the customers are human, the man behind the counter is human too. Besides them, there are no more people in the place so, why does it reek like demon in there? Perhaps it was a mistake. Was it even possible for Kun to be wrong? If that was the case, they must look so stupid standing there, after entering in such an aggressive manner—

“Welcome!” the man behind the counter greets, smiling politely as if they just didn’t do a ridiculous show of entering his cafe. “What can I get you today?”

As the best tracker of the NCT demon hunter clan and a senior member of the special unit WAYV, Kun is sure he wasn’t wrong. He doesn’t make mistakes, that’s the reason he is in WAYV. He just didn’t make a whole special unit to move around the country for a mistake. But, there are no demons in there, and the man (Ten, according to his identifier) is still smiling at them and he has to admit, he is blushing because he just burst into a random cafe with three other guys dressing completely black clothes and Ten, who is probably the cutest guy ever, saw everything.

“Hm, yeah, uh,” Kun clears his throat. “A second, please, just let me— let us check the menu.”

“Sure!”

Sicheng looks at him with raised eyebrows, and Kun knows he’s judging him. Ignoring the other, Kun grabs his rookie (Dejun) and approaches the counter.

“Guys,” Sicheng says in the channel. “Kun made a mistake. There are no fucking demons in here.”

That’s how it all starts.

…

Johnny is the leader of the unit, and he’s also the person Kun has known the longest in the clan. They studied together, they graduated together. They trust each other the most, Johnny has given it all to ensure Kun has what he needs and deserves and Kun has killed in Johnny’s name. They make the perfect combination: Johnny all smiles, energy and chats, the kind of person who thinks and plots and that no one ever suspects of because he’s just so nice. Kun is quiet, calm and aggressive, he kills quick and messy, the kind of man who would spit on your face if you ever dare to ask for mercy. It’s on you if you end up dead when trusting Kun.

People think Johnny keeps Kun at bay, but only a few know it is the other way around; Johnny has too many feelings, and sometimes they get mixed with all his strength and things could get ugly. Kun cares too little about the world to even think about destroying it. In the end, both of them have explosive and violent personalities.

Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to put them in the same unit, after all.

“I told you it isn’t a mistake,” Kun repeats through gritted teeth.

“But do you see this?” Johnny asks, smiling widely. The sarcastic bastard. “We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere because you were _so_ sure there was a group of beasts in this little insignificant city.”

“There are. There fucking are and I hope they come to bite your head in the middle of the night so the last thing you hear before dying is me saying that I told you so.”

Yuta giggles, going past them with eight boxes in his arms. Sicheng scoffs, dragging three couches, and mutters, “fucking ridiculous assholes.”

“S-seniors,” Mark calls, and when Johnny and Kun interrupt their glares contest to look at him, the kid looks like he will pee himself. “I… I wanted—”

“So you don’t want it anymore?” Johnny barks. Kun scowls at him. Mark looks ready to cry. Yuta’s laughter can be heard even when he’s probably on the second floor.

“Don’t be fucking rude, John. It’s your fault the kid is scared. What do you want, Mark?”

“I want to ask if these two seniors would want Chinese takeout,” Mark asks, and Kun feels proud of him for being able to finish his sentence even with all the hostile energy Johnny and he are letting out. 

As if his words were magical, Johnny goes from mean and sharp unit leader to the happy and easygoing man he is, smiling till his eyes form cute half-moons. “Of course! Come, come, I’ll pay this time! Kun, I will order your favorite. Let’s go, Mark!” and he drags the guy away.

One day Kun woke up with the trace of what he was sure was a big demon beast. It was on the other side of the country, so the clan decided to send Kun’s unit, but they had to cross the entire country killing other beasts. The more they approached the place where the beast Kun felt was, the more they realized it was commonplace for beasts to live. The clan told them they couldn’t leave until they killed every ghost living there and then found the powerful beast Kun talked about, so they were forced to move there for as long as it was necessary.

They were sure big and powerful demon beasts lived in there; it was perfect to train the new members of the unit: Mark, Yukhei and Dejun. They were sure it was a big deal, and after two years of inactivity followed by insignificant missions, a big deal was like a breath of fresh air. _Finally_ something worth of WAYV’s time. But they arrived in the city and discovered that the beasts were not that strong and whatever Kun felt apparently didn’t exist. Kun evidently had made a mistake and they couldn’t leave for a long, long while.

Kun, however, is sure he didn’t make a mistake. Yeah, after— that incident, none of the senior members was as sharp as before, the four of them with injuries that would never heal, but _still,_ Kun couldn’t just make a mistake like that. Not even little kids in their second class of tracking did that.

Ah, if Taeil was there he would probably tell Kun _“hm, then explain why you’re stuck in this shithole without much to do then, baby”._ Kun shakes his head and goes to help his friends move boxes from one side to another.

They go to the cafe every day after that. Sometimes it’s Johnny, sometimes it’s Yukhei, but Kun always goes with them in hopes of finding a new hint. On the third day, Kun, Yuta and Johnny are the ones in charge of visiting the cafe, and they find three kids of no more than seven years sitting by the corner of the place, calmly playing amongst themselves. They’re adorable, and the three of them chirp “dad!” when Ten approaches them.

Kun gives them a three-second glance before connecting eyes with Johnny briefly and then proceeding to order his coffee. No gestures, no reaction at all, but it is enough for the other two to understand: it’s them. The powerful demonic energy Kun felt, the reason why they’re in that city, it’s those three kids.

… 

"What if it's not even a beast," Yuta suggests. "I'll bite my own fingers if we have to call the DREAM unit because the supposed beast is a humanoid."

They are having dinner at a local restaurant after a week of organizing their belongings in their new house, which is exactly in front of the cafe they suspected the beast to be at.

As a unit specialized in demon beasts, they aren't allowed to deal with anything outside of that category, so if Kun had been wrong and the demons are not beasts, they will have to report to the clan so they can send another special unit.

"It could be an Ouija board for all we know," Johnny sighs. “How can we know where those kids came from? They could have come from an Ouija board, they could be humanoids, they could be a beast or beasts pretending to be little kids. Fuck, they could be demonic dolls,” he finishes, bitterly.

Whatever it is, is very powerful and it shows in how well it hides its energy, making it impossible for any of them to pinpoint which kind of demon it is. The only way they can discover it is by approaching it, interacting with it, maybe even getting it to lower its guard. It wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t because those kids could be normal human kids; there is a rule that forbids demon hunters of interacting with humans in any way that could be considered as odd.

Trying to befriend three seven-year-olds and convincing them of letting Kun touch their skin is, without a doubt, fucking odd. But that is the only way they have to confirm whether they are demons or not. Then again, what if they are just three little boys living in a haunted house? They don’t want to traumatize them for life with stories about demons.

That’s why they have a plan.

“Okay, so,” Sicheng starts passing his plate to Yukhei and finally acknowledging the folders he brought. He starts distributing them as he speaks, “The kids are all seven years old, and they attend the same school. That Ten guy is their adoptive father and he always requests for his kids to be put in the same class at the beginning of the scholar year. How lucky are we, their teacher had a little accident that will keep her in bed for as long as we need,” he chuckles darkly.

“Did you kill that poor woman?” Yuta deadpans. Sicheng scowls at him.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? How could she be bedridden if she’s dead?”

Yuta just shrugs, not wanting to talk about necromancy at the moment. It would ruin the mood. Sicheng decides to ignore him.

“Kun is their teacher now,” Sicheng continued, “You’ll spend six hours per day surrounded by little brats, congrats. Yuta will be a graphic designer that works from home, so he can keep an eye on the cafe across the street. Dejun, Mark and Yukhei will be simple college students. Your majors were selected in a way that will allow the three of you to stay in different places of the college and so you can cover every entrance in case of an invasion of demons. Johnny will work in a random office near the, if you ask me, very suspicious-looking forest. And lastly, I will be working in a company that fixes ceilings and stuff, that way I can go around the town all day long and see if I find anything weird. Any doubt?”

“Yeah, uh,” said Dejun, scowling at the information in his folder. “Why do I have to fake-study a maths major?”

“Because you suck at numbers. See if you learn something. Anything else that has actual relevance to our case?”

When no one else says anything, Johnny smiles and claps twice to draw everyone’s attention to him. “It seems like we’re done here,” he says, signaling to everyone’s empty plates. “Why don’t the rookies go to pay, hm?”

He doesn’t say it, but he just wants the kids to leave the four of them alone for a little while, probably to discuss details of the mission they don’t need to know yet. Even if it’s a weird request, they just nod and go. It’s silent for a few seconds until Kun sighs.

“When I saw those kids,” he starts. “I felt… It was less than a second, but I felt _him.”_

He doesn’t explain who is _him,_ and no one needs Kun to say more. Yuta fixes his gaze on the wall in front of him, Sicheng tries to even his breath, and Johnny looks straight into Kun’s eyes.

“Kun,” he calls, careful.

“No— Johnny,” he almost chokes on his own words. “Listen. I… I could never mistake his presence. I’ve been unable to forget it, even after so long. It wasn’t him, but it felt exactly like him.”

“So, you’re saying,” Yuta starts, with a light voice. “that the Demon Lord is back.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s him, but it felt like the same kind of demonic energy.”

“They’re his sons,” Sicheng suddenly says. “Or his nephews. Maybe just kids from his palace, but they have his blessing.”

“Why the fuck are kids related to the Demon Lord in a random little city in the human realm?” Johnny whines, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Ha, we’re here to discover that, aren’t we?” Kun tries to joke, half smiling.

The walk back home is silent, and it feels like a funeral procession.

…

The kids’ names are Yangyang, Chenle and Renjun, and they are Kun’s best students.

The first week of working with twenty kids, Kun had to admit, he was just running around like a headless chicken. He took five intensive courses on childcare and elementary education, but that didn’t compare with the years teachers spent studying in college. He was not qualified for the job, but he wasn’t qualified to do any other job other than hunt demons. Just like every undercover job he did in the past, this time he would have to pretend to have everything under control while internally screaming.

His class isn’t, by any means, the most difficult group of beings Kun had to deal with, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a nightmare. All of them like to move all the time, play at all hours and eat without washing their hands. Except for the three demon kids, all of them are little shits that love to drive Kun mad.

For a trio of supposedly demon princes, they certainly are polite and organized kids. Just for the way they behave, Kun knows they are not savage beasts pretending to be little boys. For the way they are genuinely surprised by ordinary things, Kun knows they are not demon dolls or kids that come from a portal opened by an Ouija board; the beings that come from ouijas already know way too much about the world, the same with demonic dolls.

“Teacher Qian,” Yangyang calls, his big eyes looking at him from the other side of Kun’s desk. “I’m sure Mina pooped herself. She smells bad.”

“I didn’t poop myself!” Mina shouts, angry.

“She smells bad,” Yangyang repeats, talking in a lower tone so the girl doesn’t listen.

They are fucking children. No more, no less. Kids. Kids that behave like kids but reek like demon lord.

It gives Kun a headache. He has never seen or heard of demon children who control their demonic energy this well, as if they don’t have any. That level of perfection is characteristic of ancient demons. It would make sense for them to be like this if they were old demons pretending to be kids, but Kun is sure they aren’t pretending; they _are_ kids. Then what does that control mean? The only explanation he can think of is that they either aren’t demons and just live in the most haunted house in the world or that they really are demon princes, and since Kun has never seen demon princes while being kids, he can’t assure they don’t have this level of skill while keeping their energy at bay. Or… for some reason their powers are sealed.

It’s been a month since they arrived in the city and they haven’t made any progress. At most, Kun has befriended the trio’s dad, Ten, who’s also the owner of that haunted cafe in front of WAYV’s house, King of Hearts.

“Well, at least Ten will eventually invite you to his house above the haunted cafe,” Yuta reasoned one day. “That’s progress.”

“It’s not progress because it hasn’t happened, dumbass,” Sicheng corrected.

“Fuck you.”

If it wasn’t because he has been living with them since they were 13, Kun would have thrown himself out of a window already. But the team is family, right?

Kun ends up in Ten’s cafe more times than necessary, if he has to admit. Twice per week should be enough, but the place is so cozy, the music so good, the coffee so delicious and Ten so gorgeous, Kun can’t prevent himself from pretty much living in there.

“So you’re living with all those guys just because you are great friends?” Ten laughs.

In days like this, where there are not that many customers, just the perfect amount for Hendery, Ten’s part-timer to handle, Ten sits at Kun’s table, happily eating cookies and talking for extended periods of time. Kun is supposed to be planning classes, revising sheets of exercises from his students, and he is, but… slowly. When Ten is around Kun’s mind is divided into working mode and chatting mode.

“Yeah, we’re friends since college,” he effortlessly lies. “I guess we just couldn’t bear the idea of not being together all the time. And the other three, the younger ones, are just our housemates.”

“It sounds nice and chaotic to live like that,” Ten comments.

Thinking about how that same morning Johnny physically fought with Yuta over a stupid silence spell, Kun nods, “It is. It’s… a new adventure every day, I guess.”

Before Ten can say more, Renjun walks to him, eyeing curiously at Kun. The three possible demons like Kun, but it seems like it is still weird to see their teacher in their father’s cafe every day. Kun smiles and waves at him, making Renjun beam and wave back.

“Hello, teacher Qian!”

“Hello, Renjun,” he greets back. Renjun gives Ten a notebook and then walks away.

Kun recognizes the notebook as the one Renjun uses for his math lessons. Ten smiles at him when he catches Kun observing his every move.

Ten’s smile is very pretty.

“It’s his homework,” Ten explains. “I’m just going to check if what he did it’s correct, don’t worry. I’m not going to do his assignments for him.”

“Renjun is smart, I know he doesn’t really need help with his homework at all,” Kun shrugs. “He’d probably get annoyed if you tried to help him.”

Shrugging, Ten nods, “Yeah, I was never good at studying and stuff.”

“You don’t need to study to help a kid do his homework,” Kun laughs.

“Whatever, studying is not even sexy.”

“What does that even have to with what we’re talking about?”

“Everything!” Ten shakes his head, as if he was disappointed in Kun. “Studying is not sexy. I am sexy. Therefore, I can’t study. We repel each other.”

“Studying is sexy though.”

“Nope, you’re wrong. Studying is not sexy, the people who study sometimes are sexy.”

“This conversation makes no sense at all,” Kun sighs, amused.

“You’re a fun guy to talk to, Kun,” Ten hums, resting his head on his hand and smiling brightly. “And you’re sexy because you study and teach and stuff.”

“Thanks, Ten,” Kun smiles.

Kun doesn’t think a lot about their conversation. Their conversations are always like this; light, easy to follow and sometimes pure nonsense. It’s nice to be able to relax when talking to someone like this.

...

Once the kids leave, Kun stays for a few more minutes to organize his classroom. Usually, he’s alone in there, but sometimes the parents of certain kids take a bit longer to arrive and the kids stay with him to wait to be picked up. Most commonly, those kids are Yangyang, Renjun and Chenle.

With a busy cafe to manage, Ten has too little time to do other things, and at least twice a week, the trio of kids stays with Kun to wait for their dad, who comes through the door in a hurry, sweating and apologizing.

“It’s fine, really,” Kun assures. “I have to stay behind anyway. A little company is appreciated.”

“Still,” Ten insists. The kids are playing by themselves loudly in a corner of the classroom. “I should be able to pick them up on time. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I told you, it’s okay. You’re busy working, I understand, and I’m sure they do too, they’re really smart kids.”

And they do, the kids understand, but that doesn’t mean they like it. Kun has talked with them, and they certainly are not bothered by the fact that they have to stay after school to wait for their dad, but they would prefer to just go home.

Kun can see how tired Ten is. He’s raising three kids by himself and has to work almost every day, all day. Perhaps Kun is a bit too empathic, but he wants to help Ten, and the only way he sees he can do it is with the kids. Of course, he will not admit that he feels an uncomfortable pain every time he thinks of how tired and how hard his friend tries. If someone asks, he’s just trying to spend more time with the kids for the sake of the mission.

“I could drop the kids at your place on my way home,” he offers. “I live literally in front of you, so it’s not like I’m going out of my way to do it. You can just… message me when you are not able to come for them, that way you don’t feel like you’re dying from the pressure.”

Ten blinks, nodding slowly. He clearly wasn’t expecting that offer, and Kun worries it is too weird. It’s Ten’s kids they are talking about, of course he will not let a stranger take them home, that’s the complete opposite of what all moms tell you to do when you’re a child. But Kun is not a stranger anymore, right? They’ve known each other for more than a month and talk almost daily. But one month seems like too little time. Perhaps Kun shouldn’t have offered in the first place. Okay, yeah, it was weird, he shouldn’t—

“Would you?” Ten asks, looking at him with what seems to be endless gratitude. “I swear it would be only like once a week! I’m just too busy sometimes and I don’t want to crash my car in my hurry to get here fast,” he chuckles nervously. “S-so it would be amazing if you really could take them to the cafe.”

Kun keeps calm, because he’s a trained hunter that can easily control his emotions. He tries to convince himself he isn’t feeling excited, but the truth is that he is definitely feeling quite excited. But to be honest, how can he not? He gets to spend more time with the kids, and oh, right he also gets Ten’s phone number, with the promise of a text every time he won’t be able to go for his kids.

…

It’s been a month and a half, and they have finally made a few findings.

They are reunited in their living room and so far, Yuta has been complaining about a bitchy client, Dejun has let everyone know how much he hates maths and Johnny is sure his boss is trying to kill him.

Sicheng clears his throat loudly, making everyone shut up because his bad mood gives everyone chills.

“So,” Kun starts. “Since I can’t find any real trace of demonic energy on the kids, I decided to use a tool.” He shows a necklace with two simple little rocks tied to it, one purple and the other white. “It’s… it’s Taeil’s and Taeyong’s desire to protect us, the members of their unit. These rocks are the physical manifestation of their desire to protect and care and… and fight demons. It’s the last thing that’s left of them, and for two years we didn’t know what to do with this, so I thought that this— helping us in a really hard case, protecting us in a difficult situation, is exactly what they would want.”

Two years ago, WAYV was a unit of six members. Johnny, Yuta, Kun, Sicheng, Taeyong and Taeil. They had been together since they were kids, and they were the most skilled unit. They were sent to a dangerous and complicated mission near a Hell border, where the human and demon realm merge and you can’t identify what is alive and what has been dead for a while.

They didn’t know what they were fighting, just that it was hurting them and that it would kill the human race if they didn’t kill it first. It took them six months of hiding, fighting, pretending, to finally discover what was happening: it was the demon lord, the king of the demon realm. There wasn’t time to wait for reinforcements, the king had discovered them and was rushing his plans of conquering the human realm.

Naturally, what happened next was that after destroying his army, the six of them had to fight against the king. It was the most painful, horrible thing any of them had to go through. They were already tired and slowly losing their minds because of the months spent in that hellish place, so it was almost impossible for them to win that battle.

In the end, with multiple injuries that would never heal, they managed to defeat the demon lord. Surprisingly, Taeil and Taeyong weren’t as severely hurt as their teammates, so they kept the other alive until the clan could open the gates to that place, several minutes after the battle had finished.

The moment other people arrived, Taeil and Taeyong smiled and started to fade away in the air after a painful goodbye. They had died while fighting the army, their bodies getting lost and their souls taking a corporeal consistency, allowing them to touch and manipulate objects. It was their desire to protect what kept them there until the very end, until they made sure Johnny, Yuta, Kun and Sicheng would be alright. That was the reason they didn’t receive damage from the king, because they didn’t have a body anymore.

The only thing they left behind were two little rocks with the remains of their souls, the rest lost in battle alongside their bodies.

That left a big scar on the members who survived, and traumas and injuries that would be with them forever.

Two years after, they still have trouble keeping their minds calm when mentioning the demon lord. Yuta sometimes loses his sight for days, and Kun’s lungs refuse to work. Sometimes Johnny’s scars bleed and don’t stop for hours, until he goes deliriant from the blood loss. Sometimes Sicheng’s legs are so weak they can’t support his weight.

Poison, swords and knives. Demonic energy. A big combination of things left them like this, without the hope of ever going back to what they used to be.

“And how does it work?” Johnny breaks the silence, with a voice so soft it could have been unheard if it wasn’t because of the quietness of the room. His eyes shine with tears no one will comment on.

“The rocks will read the demonic energy, if there’s any,” Kun explains, voice softer than what he intended. “The stronger the energy, the longer it will take for them to figure it out, because the stronger the energy, the better it is hidden. It’s like any other tracker. On the surface of the rocks will be written the kind of demon we’re dealing with.”

“So if they’re young demon lords it will just… say it.”

“Yes.”

If those kids really are future demon lords, they have to get rid of them. They’re still too young, and even if there are three of them, they are not a threat as big as older demon lords are. If they are demon lords, WAYV would be considered blessed, for that they found them when they are still inexperienced and without knowledge of their demonic energy. It would be like dealing with puppies, very energetic puppies who could bite them, but never leave their flesh open.

They would just annihilate a threat before it was a real threat. If they didn’t do it, someone else would.

Kun isn’t sure it is a good idea. They’re just little kids, right?

…

They are on a mission. They have been on a mission for two months already, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t focus on training the rookies.

When they were on the way to this city, Kun was so sure it would be the best place to train Dejun; lots of demon beasts and wild creatures. It was a paradise to polish tracking skills. Then they arrived and yes, it was full of beasts, but not as strong as Kun thought they would be.

It was disappointing.

So here he is, using charms and potions to imitate the scent of specific beasts in hopes of helping Dejun to improve his tracking skills. It isn’t that bad, actually, to pretend he is the beast and have his rookie chase him around the forest. At least, Kun can have complete control of what happens during their training sessions. It takes away the surprise element though. Kun will never react as wild and spontaneously as a random demon beast.

“Enough for today,” Kun tells Dejun, who just nods, trying to catch his breath. Kun isn’t even sweating, after two hours of constant running. “Wanna come with me? I’ll go to Ten’s cafe.”

That is, perhaps, the best part about their training sessions: getting to see Ten at the end of them. Weekends are training days, and all of them start a little after seven in the morning. King of Hearts opens at nine in the morning on weekends, so after they are done with the first part of their routine, Kun goes to the cafe across the street to have a light breakfast.

Dejun gives him a side glance, shaking his head. “Nah. I told Yukhei I would go have breakfast with him to a place he found.”

Kun enters King of Hearts and, as always, it’s just Ten behind the counter; Hendery takes the order of a nice old lady in a corner of the place. Ten smiles at him, waving excitedly, “Good morning!”

“Good morning,” Kun greets back. He sits on a stool by the counter and Ten already has his toasts done and his coffee almost ready. Kun is a regular now, he supposes.

“Seriously, coming every weekend this early,” Ten sighs, handing Kun his coffee. “We just opened and you’re already here! Get some sleep, Kun.”

Kun smiles before taking a sip. He has to remind himself to keep a straight face and not to let out a cry of happiness. It tastes _exactly_ how he likes it.

"I don't need to get some sleep, I’m used to waking up this early, so it’s fine."

"What do you even do at this hour on a weekend?"

Kun just smiles and doesn't have to say anything because Chenle, the youngest of Ten's kids, comes downstairs, yawning and still in his cute pajamas. He approaches the counter, still sleepy, and beams when he sees Kun, walking to him and sitting beside him on a stool.

"Good morning, Kun!" Chenle says, happily.

When they're in class the kids call him teacher Qian, but when they're in the cafe they started to call him just by his name. That is good, Kun feels weird when he's called "teacher" outside a classroom. He is not used to be a teacher yet.

He's been wearing the necklace daily, but it hasn't been enough time for it to figure out the demonic energy in the cafe, and much less in the kids. Kun, however, has figured something out: he likes the little family. The kids are cheerful and adorable and Ten is… Ten is great. He's kind and funny and he listens to him so well.

Ten probably senses there's something weird about Kun and his housemates, but he doesn't comment on it. He knows how Kun likes his coffee and what he has for breakfast in the mornings. Ten has a big heart, and he trusts Kun, he’s given lots of proof of it, but the one that Kun remembers the most is when Ten told him about how Yangyang, Renjun and Chenle came crashing into his life:

It was a day after school when the kids convinced Kun of accompanying them to eat outside and go to play in a park. Kun was trying to avoid spending time with the kids and Ten in places that were not the cafe and the school; it made him feel bad, knowing they liked him enough to want to hang out, but they were his target.

All they needed to do was to show him their best puppy eyes and he was grabbing his things, ready to head to wherever they wanted to. Sitting on a bench, Ten and Kun watched the kids run around, laughing and playing.

“They are the sons of a friend,” Ten said out of the blue, after a while in silence. “She died when they were four. They still remember her, but just barely.”

Kun observed him for a few seconds, and Ten looked exhausted but also happy. The type of lifestyles they had was too different from one another, and Kun always thought he was the kind of person who didn’t care about kids or family or... feelings. He was raised to know that he was, just like everyone in the world, disposable. The closest he had to a family were WAYV, but he knew if one of them died at one point, the ones remaining would probably just move on and continue, because that was what they were taught to do.

Then Taeyong and Taeil died, and Kun understood what real pain was.

Why did it hurt like that? Maybe losing a limb would hurt less. It felt like Taeyong and Taeil took a part of his soul with them. How was he supposed to move on from that? They weren’t supposed to feel like that, and yet, it took them a year to even want to go outside.

One day Kun woke up and he had his answer: the clan tried to take his humanity away from him for so many years that even Kun himself thought he didn’t have it anymore, but in the crudest, cruelest way possible, he realized the things that make humans be humans were still there; the pain, the love, the devotion, the sadness, the memories. The emotions. Kun was not an empty shell, and he was reminded of it every single day since Taeyong’s and Taeil’s deaths.

Watching Ten like that, in the cold afternoon, with tiredness in his body and love in his eyes, reminded Kun that he, too, had a family he would die for. Or, in any case, a family he would live for. Just like Kun. 

Kun could get up because that’s what Taeil and Taeyong would have wanted. What came after was his own effort but the fuel to start was the missing team members.

 _Will you take away what makes Ten’s eyes burn with life from him when the time comes?_ The thought was gone as fast as it came, and he hated it sounded in Taeyong’s voice. He always cared too much for other people.

“We weren’t even friends at the beginning,” Ten chuckles. “We shared like two classes back in junior year of college. After that, I never saw her again, until one day she was at my cafe’s doorstep with three toddlers, shaking and all beaten up. We were 23 then.”

“So you just… told her to get in and raised her kids with her?” he guessed.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what happened,” he shrugged. “There were a lot of questions, but she didn’t answer any until a year later. Four days after that she disappeared, and eight days later her body was found. No bruises, no injuries of any kind. She was just… dead, but no one knew why. Her organs were all fine, no poison, no signs of violence. It was like her soul just decided to leave her body. One day I was worried about my friend and the next I was the legal guardian of three kids.”

Ten talked about her friend and when they used to live together taking care of the kids. Yangyang and Chenle were not hers, but they had the same father as Renjun. He didn’t explain anything about the father, didn’t mention her name or any other personal information, but Kun got to know him and his life of a few years ago better.

Without even realizing, he started talking about Taeyong and Taeil, and by the time it was the hour to go home, Ten and Kun were laughing but also retaining their tears.

Kun made dinner for his friends that night, and for the first time in so long, he decided to just… forget they were trying to hunt powerful demons and enjoyed their comments, their little fights, and their chats over dinner.

He didn’t dare to analyze the things Ten told him to try to find hints that could lead to progress in their mission. The memory of that day doesn’t make Kun’s heart beat faster, but it certainly makes him feel happier.

Kun shakes his head lightly to clear his mind from those memories. He pats Chenle’s head, and not even five minutes later, the rest of the kids come downstairs.

They are just kids. They are just kids. They are just kids. They are just kids but what if they are also demons? Demons are demons even if they are kids, and demons are not supposed to exist, so they must be annihilated.

A theory about why demons are the way they are exists, and it suggests that it is because of the way they are raised. As simple as that. Raise a dog to harm and it will harm. Raise a person to kill and they will kill. Raise a demon to riot and it will riot. Just like there are bad humans, there are good demons.

Ten is clearly raising amazing, peaceful and kind-hearted kids.

_They are just kids._

Kun has breakfast with the little family that morning and it _does_ make Kun’s heart go just a little bit faster.

…

They decide to cancel the training session of that day and just stay at home to relax and bond as the team and family they are.

Sicheng huffs and says peace will probably last half an hour. They actually make it to one full hour before Yukhei starts to fight with Mark for the tv and the little issue ends when Yuta sprawls on the couch and puts a random movie.

Kun decides to bake a cake for his students, so he heads to the kitchen. Johnny, bored and forbidden to do any work because it is supposed to be a rest day, offers his help. Kun accepts because the idea of him and his best friend doing something together and semi-alone for the first time in too long sounds wonderful. He loves to spend time with Johnny, and that’s why he finds himself wondering why they don’t do things like this more often.

Kun doesn’t know shit about cooking, much less baking. Johnny is even worse. They are both too competitive, they refuse to admit they are wrong and most importantly, they like to have control and authority.

Hm. So that’s why they don’t do things like this more often.

“I don’t know about you but I used to help Taeyong bake and cook stuff _all the time_ back then,” Johnny huffs.

They’ve been at this for at least fifteen minutes, discussing why things are going wrong and blaming each other. The first cake attempt was a big failure, and they blamed it on the oven. The second attempt was also a mistake, and Kun started to blame Johnny while Johnny was sure it was Kun’s fault. Now they are at their third attempt and things are still not going fine.

“Well, I used to help him too, you dumbass,” Kun barks. “But unlike you, I was of actual help.”

“Taeyong appreciated my help a lot, mind you!”

Kun rolls his eyes, lifting his chin and looking at Johnny with disdain. “Taeyong would have appreciated the help of a fucking rat because he is like that. It doesn’t mean that you or the rat did something useful.”

They stare at each other for a while, until Johnny smirks. “You sound very sure. Why don’t we ask Taeyong?”

“You’re saying we interrupt Yong’s eternal and peaceful rest to ask him whether you were a disaster in the kitchen or not?” Kun asks, with an eyebrow raised. “Don’t be a dickhead.”

“Scared Taeyong will admit you were as useless as a sock in the kitchen?”

Three minutes later, Kun is putting their ouija board on the table. Yukhei looks at them with concern from his spot near the refrigerator.

“Uh… Is it safe to use that near the place you’re making a cake for a bunch of kids?” Yukhei finally asks.

Kun doesn’t even glance at him, too busy making sure the board is in perfect condition to be used. It’s been a while since he last used this method of communicating with spirits. It’s not the most direct way, and there are other more efficient and good methods, that allow you to actually hear the spirit’s voice and sometimes even see them and let them touch things, but Kun and the rest of the WAYV seniors don’t feel ready to see and hear and— touch Taeil and Taeyong. It took them so long to even use the board… but yes, they communicate with them sometimes. In their good days, when guiltiness isn’t threatening with drowning them.

Perhaps they should speak about that with Taeil and Taeyong.

Perhaps.

Johnny scoffs, “What? Do you think ashes of the deceased will dirty the frosting? It’s okay, Yukhei. Kids love board games anyway.”

“I don’t think— Whatever. I’ll go back to the living room.” He leaves and Johnny finally looks at Kun.

As demon hunters, the ouija board is one of the safest spirit summoning devices, and they don’t need to ask random stupid greeting questions as normal humans do. Johnny puts one of his hands on the left side of the planchette, Kun’s on the right, and he clears his throat.

“Yongie?” Johnny calls. “Hello. I’m sorry we’re interrupting your sleep but Kun and I need to know a thing. Would you answer?”

After a few seconds, probably what took Taeyong to gather the pieces of his soul, the planchette moves to the big “YES” written on one of the corners of the board. Kun smiles when a warm breeze tousles his hair. It seems like Taeyong is happy to converse with them.

“Okay, so like you can see,” Kun begins. “Johnny and I made a fucking mess while trying to bake a cake—” he doesn’t finish because of the planchette moving to an exclamation sign. Knowing Taeyong, it means that he is surprised and proud of them for trying to do something in the kitchen. Johnny chuckles and Kun’s smile just gets bigger. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, it’s not going well, and I’m sure it’s all Johnny’s fault.”

“I am sure it’s Kun’s fault. I used to help you all the time.”

“But I did too. So, what we want to know is who do you think is fucking things up.”

The planchette stays still for some seconds until it slowly moves to a “2”. Both Johnny and Kun gasp.

“What do you mean both of us!?” Johnny shrieks. “I’m clearly doing amazing here!”

“You don’t have any fucking idea of what you are doing,” Kun scowls.

“Well, you don’t either.”

“I never baked anything in my life by myself— or with someone as stupid as you, in any case.”

“Oh, so you’re saying this is my fault just because I don’t know how to bake?”

“Ah! You’re admitting you’re as shitty as I am when it comes to cakes!”

“No! I—”

Moving very slowly again, the planchette starts to point letters. It stops sometimes, which can be interpreted as Taeyong hesitating to communicate what he wants. Hm, that’s weird, Taeyong never hesitates to say anything to them in their sessions.

The more letters he points out, the quieter Johnny and Kun become.

“I COULD TEACH YOU”

“What? How?” Johnny laughs nervously. “We can’t just— we can’t bake and every three seconds come back to the table for you to tell us what to do next. It would take us forever.”

“MY VOICE” the planchette spells. It takes it a few more seconds to point. “VOICE ARRAY”

Kun’s fingers shake a little, and in response the planchette shakes too, starting to spell in a hurry, “IF YOU WANT”

“It’s not that we don’t want…” Kun mutters.

It’s not that they can’t accept they are dead. Johnny, Kun, Yuta and Sicheng are still scared of the monstrosities they had to go through. They feel guilty because they couldn’t do anything to help their friends.

Death they can accept. The circumstances of it are something they will never forget or forgive.

When none of them says anything for painful and heavy moments, the planchette moves again.

“BAD IDEA” and then “SORRY”

Now that is something Johnny and Kun can’t permit. If someone in this realm— in any realm has no reason to apologize for anything (much less offering his help!) is Lee Taeyong. They lock eyes, and Kun nods once, making Johnny slightly smile. Johnny’s fingers brush against Kun’s.

Perhaps…

“Give us a few minutes to make the array and then you can lecture us on how to bake a cake, Yong,” Kun says.

Quickly, before they can remove their fingers from it, the planchette points again to the exclamation sign. It’s so incredible how it is almost impossible to express emotions through the board, but Taeyong manages to express himself in a way that’s so him.

Kun stumbles his way out of the kitchen to fetch his cursed chalks set from his room. He must look pale and excited but scared and like he’s about to vomit, because Sicheng squints at him when he passes the living room, set of chalks in his hands.

“You alright?” Yuta asks.

“We— Taeyong wants to help us bake a cake,” he explains, voice soft. Sicheng looks confused, but another glance to the cursed chalks, special for arrangements that allow communication with spirits, and he also loses all the color in his face. “He suggested a voice array,” Kun confirms.

Yuta inhales sharply and Sicheng looks away. The rookies observe them carefully. They didn’t get to meet Taeil and Taeyong, but they know most of what happened on that battle, and they know what a difficult matter that is for their seniors.

“I’m sure he’d be happy to talk with you,” Kun says. “And I’m sure he would understand if you don’t want to hear him. It’s up to you.”

In the kitchen, Johnny has already drawn the talismans they need on napkins. Kun starts to draw the array directly on the ouija board. Once it’s ready Johnny sticks the talismans to it with a few droplets of blood. Lastly, Kun writes Lee Taeyong in a corner with red chalk.

Then, they wait.

“Kun, Johnny,” Taeyong’s voice calls, dubious and low, barely a whisper. He must notice the way Kun grits his teeth and Johnny holds a corner of the table, because he says, still hesitant, “Ah, it works. Hello. I’m Taeyong— and you obviously know that. God, I’m dumb. Sorry, uh… it’s my first time doing this.”

Just like that, Kun is laughing while a few tears fall from his eyes, and Johnny’s smile is a bit crooked, a bit sad, but it reaches his eyes, making them shine.

God, Taeyong sounds exactly the same.

“Hello,” Kun says, drying his tears with his hands. Taeyong doesn’t comment on it.

“Sorry we didn’t call sooner,” Johnny clears his throat. Kun scoffs at the ‘call’. “But it’s so… good, to hear from you, Taeyong.”

They get to work on the cake, and with Taeyong’s clear instructions it is much easier, and things start to smell good. Kun finds himself laughing at Taeyong’s comments, and it’s almost as it was two years ago, with Taeyong patiently telling them how to do better, never getting angry at how fucking bad they are at anything related to cooking and baking.

They are putting the cake in the oven when Sicheng peeks through the door, looking at the array.

“Hello?” he greets tentatively, as if doubting they are actually talking with Taeyong.

“Sicheng-ah!” Taeyong exclaims, with genuine happiness. “Hello! Oh my god, it’s so good to have you here! How have you been?”

Sicheng stays frozen at the doorstep for a while, but Taeyong doesn’t press and Kun and Johnny don’t either. Eventually, Sicheng enters the kitchen and sits on a stool near the table.

“I am… fine,” Sicheng finally responds, quietly. “I am fine.”

Kun can imagine how widely Taeyong must be beaming.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Taeyong responds, softly. “I am so glad you seem to be doing well.”

While Kun and Johnny struggle with the frosting of the cake Yuta enters the kitchen without making any sound and sits next to Sicheng, not looking at the array. Taeyong doesn’t say anything to him, exactly what Yuta needs.

They all know how much Taeyong wants to talk to Yuta, how much he wants to hear Yuta’s voice, and how much he wants him to talk to him, but they all know that the fact that Yuta is even there is maybe too much for himself. Sitting there, listening to Taeyong’s voice is a tremendous effort from his part.

Kun smiles at him, encouragingly but not pressuring.

“Ah, look at that!” Taeyong exclaims when the cake is finished. “Amazing job, guys. I’m proud.”

“All thanks to you,” Johnny grins.

Taeyong giggles and it makes something hurt in everyone’s chests. It hurts but surprisingly… it’s not that bad anymore. It hurts but it feels way better, hearing Taeyong’s laughter.

“Well then, since we’re done I guess I should leave you to go and bond with your rookies. Kun mentioned that’s what you’re doing today, right?” Taeyongs says. “So…”

“They went out,” Yuta blurts. He’s looking at a wall and doesn’t seem to want to take his gaze away from it. It’s the first thing he’s said in nearly one hour. “They said… we should bond as a team but separate this time. Seniors and rookies.”

The board shakes, and no one comments on how excited Taeyong evidently is to hear Yuta speak. Yuta has the tiniest smile lighting up his features.

“Oh! In that case, we can talk a bit more, if you all want?”

“We do,” Yuta nods.

“How are you, Yuta? I didn’t ask you earlier.”

That’s a hard question to respond because Taeyong is expecting a different answer from Yuta than what he expected from the rest. He doesn’t want a state, he wants emotions.

_How do you feel? What do you feel?_

Even when he’s dying, Yuta will say he’s fine. To him, having a body is a good enough state. He could be dead. He’s not, so he’s fine. Now, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel sad.

“I am. I’m— I,” he stutters, then pauses to take a deep breath. Finally, he scans the board with his eyes, and finally, he smiles. “I am happy, Taeyong. I feel— hopeful.”

When Taeyong responds after a while, his voice sounds tight. His voice sounds exactly like it used to sound like when he was about to cry, “That’s so good, love. You have no idea how… how relieved I am to hear you say that.”

The way it hurts for all of them it’s different depending on the person. They all lost two friends, but some lost a bit more than just that.

They’re what’s left of that once happy group of friends, and they are not fine, and it still hurts, but they are trying to do better, and that’s the important thing.

...

If there is something Ten needs besides 14 hours of continuous sleep, is to relax in general. That’s the reason Kun plans a relaxing afternoon. And because he knows Ten enough, the kids are, of course, in the plan. Is it even possible for Ten to relax without his sons around?

Kun wants Ten to rest and to be healthy, so the day the date comes, Kun has to admit he’s very excited.

Everyone in the house looks at him with raised eyebrows but he pays them no mind.

The first thing they do is going to one of those places where you can make your own teddy bear. The kids and Kun give their bears to Ten as a present, so he gets out of the store with a total of five teddy bears, laughing at how ridiculous he must look. Kun thinks he looks adorable.

After that, it’s time to eat, so they go to a restaurant Ten loves. Yangyang doesn’t like the food of the place, but since he knows they’re out for his dad, he eats everything that is served to him without a single complaint. Ten looks delighted.

They take the kids to their favorite park where a lot of other children always play at, a very popular spot in the city. While the trio plays, Ten and Kun talk with other parents and eventually sit by themselves while calmly chatting and keeping an eye on the kids.

It’s not exactly the kind of “relaxing day” Kun ever thought he would enjoy, but he’s having fun. In the months he’s been living in this city he got to like and understand kids more, he learned how to treat them and deal with them, especially Ten’s kids. Kun has to admit, he adores those kids, they stole his heart, with their curious eyes and cute smiles. Ten, too, stole his heart.

Used to being always in a rush, Kun finds himself feeling like he’s in paradise in this city in the middle of nowhere, with a simple job, his afternoons spent in the cafe across the street, his weekends in Ten’s company. Ah, and Ten. Of course, there is Ten, who is everything Kun wasn’t expecting while following that trail, who is cheerful and has a big heart, who never questions Kun’s and Kun’s friends’ weird habits.

Tilting his head, Ten stares back at him, a confused smile on his lips, wondering why is Kun looking at him so fixedly. Kun smiles back.

The date finishes and they promise to repeat. The kids hug Kun and Ten kisses Kun’s cheek right outside the cafe. Kun crosses the street and takes the necklace off; it became gradually hotter as the day came to its end. Now, it is uncomfortably hot, not enough to burn, but enough to have Kun praying it is not broken.

On both stones, there is a little carving, a single orange flame with a barely open eye in the center. For most people, it would not have any meaning, but Kun, who knows every single emblem of the demon realm, knows what that flame and eye mean, and it’s not something good.

He releases a breath, unable to stop staring at the rocks on his palms. The goal of the stones is clear: whoever wears the necklace and is in the constant presence of a demon would be able to discover which major or minor family the demon belongs to because the rocks show the emblem of the demon family. Knowing the family is enough to determine how strong a demon is. There are so many families though, so if the demon isn’t strong the rocks would just change color to a greenish tone. An emblem, therefore, means trouble.

The flame and half-open eye are the emblem of the royal demon family, which means Yangyang, Renjun and Chenle are descendants of a demon lord.

…

Things start to rush shortly after the rocks announce the demon blood of the kids. Kun explains the kids must have their powers sealed and that’s why no one can find traces of demonic energy on them.

Everyone quits their jobs and start to prepare as many talismans, weapons and spiritual tools as possible. Johnny and Sicheng lock themselves in a room and start to plan their course of action, thinking of every scenario possible. They still don’t know anything about the kids’ powers, but the clan is pressing them to get rid of them as soon as possible.

They move to another house as part of the protocol and because they can’t prepare traps for demons when the demons are around, since they would feel them. In the house in front of the cafe, only Mark and Yuta stay behind, with the occasional visit of Yukhei and Dejun, just to keep an eye on the kids and to try to make things a bit less weird. If they all moved at the same time it would be strange.

Kun is not helping. He’s not preparing, not planning, not even keeping an eye on the demons. He can just think about how the kids must miss him, not only the demon trio, the kids he taught in general. They are all adorable and he got a liking to be their teacher. It’s been a couple of days and he’s missing being a teacher already.

His routine was interrupted suddenly, and he, so used to cross the street to be in Ten’s presence, doesn’t like it at all.

If he told his superiors, if he explained to his team that he’s sure the kids are not a threat, would they even listen? Would they believe him if he told them that Yangyang would never dare to hurt anyone, that Renjun is too gentle to even think of endless power, and that Chenle is too good for this world? Kun doesn’t think ambushing a little family of three kids and a young dad is a good idea.

“It’s our job, Kun,” Yuta tells him, and his voice is gentle, full of understanding and sympathy. “Thinking about hurting kids doesn’t make me happy either, but they aren’t just kids, are they? Yes, right now they are tiny and cute but they will eventually grow up and start acting like the direct descendants of a demon lord they are. We can’t take the risk.”

“They won’t,” Kun says, firm. “Ten isn’t raising them to be like that. They don’t have any malice in their hearts.”

“They’re demons. They will end up killing Ten too or just— how do you know Ten is not planning to use them as a weapon?”

And ah, Yuta is right. How does he know? How is he so sure? They’ve seen this happen before. Cases where humans get a demon beast and tame it to attack other people. Humans that adopt demon children and raise them to be wild beings, and they always end up dead. Yuta is not saying bullshit, he’s stating the things every hunter knows, the things they’ve all observed, and yet, Kun can’t accept it.

There were only so few days where Kun didn’t spend at least a few hours in the kids’ and Ten’s company. It’s been three months since they arrived in this city and Kun has spent more time with them than with his team. At first, it really was to gather as much information as possible about the family but eventually, it was because he genuinely enjoyed the family’s presence in his life.

That morning things are tense, like they are all the time now. Mark barges through the door and tells them the kids and Ten were kidnapped by another demon just minutes ago. That makes the rest of the hunters stop all they are doing, processing what Mark just told them.

“What?” Johnny shrieks. “And where the hell were they brought to?”

“I don’t know!” Mark yells. “The demon just— entered the cafe and there were screams and by the time I entered he was dragging them through a portal!”

“Who cares,” Sicheng shrugs. “Now we don’t have to do shit. The demon is doing our job. Thanks.”

“No.”

Everyone looks at Kun, and they all know a fight is about to happen when they see Johnny squint at Kun, who just frowns in return.

“I will not sit here and wait for the kids and Ten to die,” Kun hisses.

“So what?” Johnny groans. “It was our job to kill the boys, now it’s not because a random demon is doing it for us,” he rolls his eyes. “You’re gonna chase after the demon all alone? Don’t be stupid, Kun, that’s like asking to get killed.”

“I prefer that than just doing nothing when innocent people are being kidnapped! When _kids_ are being kidnapped!”

“Innocent people?” Johnny repeats, incredulous. “They are demons. They are future demon lords. They are the sons of the demon king that killed our family members.”

Kun shakes his head, “Don’t be like that, Johnny. You know it’s not the kids’ fault Taeyong and Taeil were killed. It was their biological father, not them. They don’t even have powers right now, they’re sealed—”

“Right now. You said it, they’re weak, but only while their demonic energy is sealed. When it is not, then what? What will happen? Three demon lords in the human realm. Do you think that’s fine? We could barely deal with one back then, what about three? Demons should not be in the human realm, and even less if they are demon lords.”

Kun will punch Johnny. That’s it, that’s how they are solving this. Whoever can stand on their own after that is right and can do whatever he wants. That’s how they’ve been resolving things since they were kids, and Kun knows Johnny is thinking of the same when they lock eyes. Yuta tries to calm them down when a loud crashing sound and a dense mist fills the living room.

Someone is there.

It takes them a second to take their weapons out and surround whoever is in the middle of the living room. Kun can’t see anything, but he knows Sicheng already immobilized them with talismans and Yuta is aiming at their foreheads with a gun of special bullets on each hand.

The mist dissipates and there are two people. They're pale, almost white in a disturbing way. No living being has that color. As hunters, they know that's the color of skin ghosts have when they take a human form; their souls no longer attached to the warm force of life, so they can't provide warmth to the body. Also, they look somehow translucent, their bodies not completely there. The most remarkable part, however, is the eyes. Red eyes, proof that they are currently closer to be demons than humans, like all ghosts.

Yuta gasps, dropping both pistols and jumping away, trying to get as far from both ghosts as possible. Kun, however, feels numb. He’s unable to move, frozen in his place, looking at Taeil and Taeyong.

They look back at them with bewilderment and sadness. Something in Kun’s minds screams at him to move, to do something. They could be demons with the ability to change forms to draw their prey closer, or to scare them enough to enter a state of shock, just like Kun is at the moment. It’s a dangerous and unknown situation and Kun can’t react.

“Yuta?” Taeyong calls, without moving from his place. It’s his voice, the one everyone remembers, and the one that helped Johnny and Kun to bake a cake a few days ago. Yuta’s weak whimper is what brings Kun back to his senses, and even though he’s still feeling rather stiff and lost, he moves towards Yuta at the same time Johnny corners and ties up both ghosts.

Johnny is talking and Sicheng is saying something too, but it sounds distant to Kun’s ears. He kneels heavily beside Yuta, who is sitting while hugging his knees, shuddering and weakly sobbing, his face buried in his knees.

“Yuta,” he calls, with a steadiness he doesn’t know where it came from, “Yuta.”

It takes only two more tries for Yuta to unroll himself from the little sobbing ball he was and to jump to Kun’s arms. They end up sitting, Yuta almost completely on Kun’s lap. Kun is facing the ghosts and his friends while Yuta is giving them his back. Johnny is muttering something to Sicheng, who is glaring at the ghosts fixedly while nodding to Johnny, and the three rookies are curiously eyeing Taeil and Taeyong, who smile awkwardly at them, tied up and sitting on the floor.

“They’re still here, right?” Yuta asks, with a small voice.

“They are,” Kun responds, in the same low voice. They are whispering in the other’s ear.

“Are they Taeil and Taeyong?”

Kun looks up, hand still stroking Yuta’s back, and finds Taeyong looking at Yuta with the saddest expression he has ever seen in a ghost.

A sad, broken, and yet hopeful expression. Those two red eyes that should not show anything but grief and emptiness, while set on Yuta, seem to be overflowing with life and love.

It’s enough for Kun to have an answer to the question every living hunter in the room has: are those two ghosts really Taeil’s and Taeyong’s ghosts?

“They are,” Kun responds. Yuta takes a deep, sharp breath. “Johnny,” Kun calls, louder than when he talked to Yuta. Johnny looks at him, face empty of expressions. “Untie them.”

Johnny looks at him for a few seconds, then at Yuta, and then once again at Kun. He doesn’t ask any questions, just nods and orders the rookies to untie the ghosts, trusting Kun’s judgment completely.

The next thing that happens is silence. What do you say when your dead teammates, whose bloody deaths still haunt you in your dreams, suddenly appear in the middle of a tense moment? How do you face them and their pale ghostly bodies when the images of their destroyed, abused bodies are still engraved in your mind? No one knew in which moment exactly Taeyong and Taeil died while fighting the demon army, just that their bodies were lost in that battle. The moment their souls began to disappear, however, they took in the form their bodies had when their souls left them, showing the rest of WAYV the horrible, butchered state their bodies ended up in.

Taeyong laughs awkwardly. “Sorry for appearing unannounced but we discovered something while we were in the demon realm.”

“You live in the demon realm?” Sicheng chokes out.

When people die, they either reincarnate or go directly to the ghostly realm. If it’s not their time to reincarnate, they’ll have to wait, but they can also stay as ghosts if that’s what they want, as long as they still have a good enough reason not to move forward. If they are sent to the demon realm, it is to be tortured for the rest of the eternity until the soul breaks and transform into demons.

It’s the worst thing that could ever happen to a demon hunter.

“No!” Taeil hurries to respond. “We live in the ghost realm. We just went to the demon realm to investigate because things have been weird for a while.”

Yuta chooses that moment to untangle himself away from Kun. Both of them stand, face to face. Kun smiles at Yuta, drying what’s left of his tears with his thumbs, and nods slightly at him.

In the night Taeil and Taeyong died, Taeil’s soul was quick to fade, barely being able to mutter a goodbye word, no regrets tying him to the human realm. Taeyong was different, allowing his teammates to see in detail how bloody the state his body ended up in was, his soul showing a reflection of the body it inhabited the moment it died. Yuta was able to hold Taeyong in his last moments. Yuta was the one hugging what was left of Taeyong, almost unrecognizable, with missing limbs and so much blood everyone was sure it was all out, not a single droplet left in Taeyong’s destroyed veins. It was Yuta. He was the one right there, comforting Taeyong’s distressed soul while everyone was in shock, scared out of their minds. It was Yuta the one to traumatize himself for life just to make sure Taeyong’s soul would let go of his fears and resentments so it wouldn’t turn into a demon or evil spirit once it finally passed away.

“Yuta,” Taeyong had cried. “I don’t want to leave you yet—”

Yuta chuckled, his best smile on display for Taeyong. “What are you saying? I know that! But it’s time, love. Let go and don’t look back.”

“But—”

“No, no,” Yuta shook his head. “It’s time to rest. It’s been an amazing life, Yong. No need to regret anything, or to fear anything. Leave knowing you made me— you made _us_ immensely happy. No reasons to blame you, or me, or anyone. There is nothing to regret, and there is nothing to avenge.”

“Really?” Taeyong whispered, his soul already starting to fade. Yuta’s smile grew bigger.

He took Taeyong’s face in his hands, not stopping for even a second to consider it. He held that bloody, scarred and destroyed face just like he did every time when Taeyong was still alive. Yuta didn’t hesitate, nor did he show fear or disgust. Kun wanted to throw up and shiver just from seeing what was left of Taeyong’s face, but Yuta held it gently, closely.

“Can’t you see, Taeyong?” he asked, softly. “Can’t you see how I’m alright? Can’t you feel it? If I, that will stay here, am not showing guilt nor sorrow, why would you, that will never feel pain again? Please, don’t worry about me.”

“... If you say so,” Taeyong accepted. “I don’t want to leave, though.”

Yuta chuckled again, allowing a few tears to roll down his cheeks. “I know, darling. I know.” He left a kiss on Taeyong’s forehead. “Now, say hi to Taeil for me, okay? And don’t forget, I love you.”

Finally, Taeyong smiled, and while nodding, his soul continued to disappear faster, until, in a matter of two seconds, Yuta was left with nothing in his hands. Taeyong had passed away, his soul was able to leave everything bad that was tying it to the human realm in that place in the middle of nowhere.

Slowly, Yuta’s smile disappeared too, his cheerful expression morphing into one of pure pain and agony. Tears rolled nonstop. Kun couldn’t take it anymore, so he just closed his eyes and prayed for the clan to find them soon.

After witnessing all that, no one could blame Yuta for not wanting to see Taeyong right away, and yet, just like he always did, Yuta stood up and did the opposite of what everyone was expecting him to do.

“What did you investigate?” Yuta asked, standing, with Johnny and Sicheng just a few steps away from the ghosts.

That question snaps the ghosts back to focus, and at the same time the door of the house is kicked open, Taeil exclaims: “The demons are preparing to invade the human realm!”

Identifying a demon and identifying a ghost is pretty easy. Ghosts, even when they don’t have bad intentions, usually just make the room feel colder. Demons, however, instill fear in a person’s mind. When Taeyong and Taeil arrived, it didn’t take WAYV too long to figure out they were just ghosts. Whoever entered through the door just now is a very powerful demon.

“It’s all your fault, you damn hunters!” the demon roars. He’s tall and his hair is half black and half red. His horns are long and of the same colors as his hair. His eyes are yellow and they are glaring at them with hatred.

Without stopping to think in their next actions, Kun and Johnny throw themselves at the demon, weapons already out. With perfect synchronization, Johnny and Kun fight the demon. As the strongest members in the team, it’s always them in the first line of defense, it’s always them the firsts to face the danger. They are used to it, and it became a part of themselves, the instinct of dealing with whatever enemy they have in order to buy their team time to prepare and think about what they will do next.

Kun stabs the demon in a male form with his blade, making him hiss in pain. Johnny uses the moment of distraction to push the man to his knees, and in less than a blink he has him in a chokehold. Kun’s next goal is to prevent him from moving his legs, so he takes two other blades from the inside of his coat and approaches to stick them in the demon’s calves.

“Wait! Stop! What are you two doing, stop!” Taeil yells.

The moment he says that, Kun stops his steps and Johnny stops tightening his hold on the man’s neck. Johnny doesn’t let go, and Kun doesn’t drop his blades, but they stop their killing intents.

“He’s the leader of the rebellion that wants to overturn the current demon lord, and therefore stopping the invasion to the human realm,” Taeyong hurries to explain when he notices his friends’ bloodlust hasn’t reduced. “He used to be the old lord’s right-hand man.”

Johnny looks up at him, waiting for a response. The wrong move of Kun’s head, the wrong blink or the wrong breath, and Johnny will break the man’s neck.

That is another one of their things; while one of them is busy being the force, leaving his mind completely in blank, the other one has to do the thinking. Kun is analyzing what Taeyong just told them, quickly trying to decide whether it’s better to kill the threat or to keep him alive with the risk of the situation getting out of control.

He has a conclusion soon enough: the man is worth more alive than dead.

“Let him go,” he mutters. Johnny releases the demon, quickly getting up and standing next to Kun, warily observing the demon, who is still kneeling on the floor.

“You’re here for the kids, right?” Taeil asks the man, helping him stand up. That catches Kun’s interest instantly.

The man looks at Taeil, serious and distrusting. “Who are you?”

“Ah, right!” Taeyong chirps, walking to the man. Kun has to bite his tongue to stop himself from barking at Taeil and Taeyong to get away from that guy. “These hunters right here are the special unit number 0, also known as WAYV,” Taeyong introduces, laughing at the demon’s face of disgust. “Yeah, we are the ones who killed the previous demon lord, Doyoung.”

“You mentioned something about the kids,” Kun says to Taeil. “What does he have to do with them?”

“What do _I_ have to do with them?” Doyoung repeats, incredulous and sarcastic. “I’m here to fix the mess you all created by giving them to the demon lord.”

“We didn’t hand them to the demon lord,” Johnny clarifies, sounding like the idea of them contacting the demon lord, even to hand him some small demons, is gross.

It is a gross idea, actually. And highly offensive.

“We know things,” Taeil comments, showing his best smile. Kun can see what he’s trying to do; Taeil was always the best to get the enemy to trust them. He has that effect on people. You just see that smile and that face and you want to help him in whatever he needs. “We didn’t hand the kids, we want to save them.”

Which is totally not true. Only Kun wants that. No one disagrees, though, deciding to let Taeil handle the situation.

“It’s true that at the beginning the unit’s goal was to kill the children,” Taeyong admits. “But if we explain to them why it is important to keep them alive, I can promise you, they will help to get them back.”

“I want to save them,” Kun pronounced. “I don’t care whether the rest of the unit wants or not. If they want, they can come with me. If they don’t want, they can stay. Whatever they choose won’t make me back away from going to rescue the kids and Ten.”

Doyoung is cautious and in guard. No one can blame him; he’s in a house that belongs to demon hunters, surrounded by the unit that killed who once was the most powerful demon.

“Ah, come on, Doyoung,” Taeyong giggled. “We know so many things, that says a lot about us. What makes you think we are on the current demon lord’s side, huh? If we wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be here having this conversation. And yet here you are, because we know you are the option with the highest probability of success: you know the weaknesses of the demon lord. And it’s just you here, right? You can’t wait for the rebel army to back you up because, by the time they arrive, the little princes would be dead.”

At that, Doyoung becomes stiff. Taeyong’s smile just gets bigger.

“And we can’t just go there to fight the demon lord without knowing anything about how to defeat him,” Taeil continues. “So, you and us are stuck in here, waiting for the other party to yield.”

Doyoung, however, doesn’t even look at Taeil, too busy staring at Kun. Kun doesn’t know why he’s eyeing him so fixedly when he’s not even talking, but he maintains the eye contact. Eventually, the demon sighs and nods.

“The kids are the sons of the past demon lord. Only Renjun is the son of the previous queen, though. The other two are the sons of concubines,” Doyoung starts, sounding bitter. “I used to be the king’s right-hand man and when he died I became the king’s brother’s new right-hand man. Renjun could not become a king because he was a child, so his uncle would be in charge until he could. Of course, things are not that easy, and the man, greedy and with all the power, ordered me to kill the three kids; not only Renjun, because in case he died the other two had all the right to inherit the throne. Since he was the new king, I had to obey.”

“But you didn’t kill them,” Sicheng deadpans. “They are alive.”

Looking irritated at the interruption, Doyoung rolls his eyes. “Of course I didn’t kill them. I was loyal to the father of those kids, not the new king. I helped them and the queen to escape. Then I went back to the demon realm to work for the king while, at the same time, I reunited people to start the rebel army in hopes we could someday overthrow him. Some years ago, however, two of his lackeys found out the queen and princes were still alive, so one of them rushed to tell the new king and the other went to kill them. I managed to kill the one that was going to the king right on time, but by the time I arrived to the human realm, the queen was already dead.”

Kun remembers this. Ten told him about his college friend who one day disappeared and later was found without any sign of violence but also dead. Who would have thought that woman was actually the queen of the demon realm.

“The king has managed to find the kids now,” Doyoung continues, gritting his teeth. “And he also discovered I was never loyal to him. He did not drive me away so as not to raise suspicions, but he also didn’t tell me about his plans. When I discovered he was going to kidnap the princes, he was already here in the human realm. I thought you, as demon hunters, decided to help him. I mean, you have no scruples, of course you’d help him, was what I thought.”

“That’s highly offensive because we would never help a demon, much less a demon lord,” Johnny huffs, upset.

“Whatever. He’s a bad and mean man. No one wants him on the throne. Exactly the kind of man who would side with the hunters just to cause more pain.”

“A king is powerful only if his people believe in him,” Mark comments before Johnny can start a fight with Doyoung. “Why haven’t you convinced the rest of demon folks to raise against the king?”

“Because they don’t find a reason to fight,” Doyoung responds. “If the current king dies it will be like when the previous king died; chaos and disaster… unless people know the heirs are alive. In that case, things may change. Knowing that one of the princes will eventually become the king can ignite people’s will to rise up against the demon lord.”

“So, the solution is to show the demons the princes are still alive,” Kun summarizes.

“Yeah,” Doyoung shrugs. “Pretty much. Show them they are alive and they will fight the king’s lackeys. You can also forget about the invasion to the human realm. No demon is interested in that, only the king. Humans are boring, why would we want to have you around?”

Well, if that doesn’t make things clear, Kun doesn’t know what will. It’s obvious what the right choice is.

“Makes sense,” Kun nods. “Okay, I’m helping you. Let’s go for the kids.”

Doyoung stiffly accepts. He also knows he has better chances with the help of a hunter; they would make such a good team, with him knowing how to defeat the demon lord and the hunter with his skills and training. He’s conscious the rest of hunters in that unit don’t want to rescue the princes, he can see how hostile they are, but there is one hunter who wants to help, and that’s better than going all on his own.

Sighing deeply, Johnny draws the attention of everyone in the room to him. Kun scowls at him, waiting for another scolding session… Which never arrives, because Johnny just stands next to him, smiling tiredly.

“I’ll help too,” he says. Kun looks at him in disbelief. “You will?”

“Yeah. What are friends for, right? If I can’t stop you, I will join you.”

Kun is still blinking at Johnny, trying to process how he went from refusing to even mention the kids’ names to deciding to help, when Yuta suddenly steps in front of him, beaming.

“I guess we’ll have to get to know the kids now, huh? To see how cute and nice they are, just like you say!” Yuta chirps.

"Those little brats are cute," Johnny admits, and after a while he sighs again, smiling softly. He looks over his shoulder to where the rookies stand and says, "Hey, kids, today we're going on a field trip. Take your weapons and get moving."

“Just see where loyalty and friendship takes you to,” Sicheng mutters, but he also approaches them. “Let’s kill another demon lord.”

Ecstatic, Yuta repeats, “Let’s kill another demon lord!”

…

Kun is not a strategist. Thinking is Sicheng’s and Johnny’s job. He just listens and obeys. If they tell Kun to run to the left, he will not even thinking about it and he will simply run to the left. So, busy trying to keep his mind calm, not worrying about what the hell they are going to do next, Kun suddenly finds himself fighting demons in a cabin in the middle of the forest, not really knowing how he ended up there.

Doyoung opened a portal to that place and told them the kids were in the basement. Ten was kept in the main floor of the cabin, and around 15 demons were watching him. Outside the cabin were another 15 demons. Yukhei, Mark and Johnny were sent first, letting them deal with the guards outside meanwhile Kun and the rest entered.

Taeyong and Taeil were sent to the demon realm so they could start spreading rumors about the princes being alive, and thus people would start talking about their nonconformities. This way it wouldn’t be such a big surprise when Doyoung brought the kids back to show everyone they were alright. “Take care,” Taeyong asked them, looking for Yuta’s eyes with his own. Yuta nodded once but didn’t return the gaze. Taeyong just sighed quietly and left with Taeil.

“Aim for the ribs,” Doyoung told them when they asked for the king’s weakness, not long after the two ghosts left. “I will fight him, just back me up and keep his lackeys away.”

They knew they didn’t have much chances against the demon lord. If anyone, it was Doyoung the one that could actually kill the king in less than three days, unlike the time WAYV killed the past king. It took them too much time, and they didn’t have that privilege this time. So, back Doyoung up.

More demons are appearing out of a portal at the end of the room and Doyoung hurries to close it. Sicheng and Yuta are the main force inside here, with Dejun not that far behind them. Kun rushes to Ten, who is watching everything with wide eyes, sitting against a wall. To reach to him Kun has to cut a few throats, kick some stomachs and punch a lot of noses. By the time he kneels in front of Ten, his dark hunter clothes are quite bloody and he’s in a bad mood. Oh, he doesn’t even want to imagine how annoyed and cold his stare is.

“So,” Kun says. Ten looks at him with his jaw almost touching the floor. “Didn’t know your sweet kids are the sons of a demon lord?”

With his holy dagger of white, luminous blade and sacred green gemstones, Kun cuts the ropes tying Ten.

“I thought they were the sons of a mod boss, not the sons of a fucking demon king,” Ten admits, voice quiet and tired. Kun laughs while throwing a knife to a demon that was approaching. Ten blinks.

Johnny, Mark and Yukhei enter the cabin and immediately things are easier to control. “Kun, make your boyfriend get up now and go with Yuta, Sicheng, Doyoung and Dejun to the basement! Yukhei, take Ten out and stay with him until we’re done. Mark, with me, we have two minutes before we have to go to the basement!”

Kun helps Ten stand in unsteady legs and practically drags him to Yukhei, who is already by the door.

“Kun?” Ten exclaims, panic, fear and anxiety in his voice. He’s bruised and clearly distressed, but right now Kun can only smile at him and kiss his forehead.

“I’ll be right back with the kids, you just wait with Yukhei, I have to kill a demon lord again,” Kun says. As soon as he’s done talking, he runs towards the team that is already going down the stairs. He barely manages to listen the incredulous ‘again!?’ Ten shouts behind him.

They obviously don’t have the surprise element on their side now. They made their presence known with so many shouts and killing they just did. The demon lord, however, isn’t expecting Doyoung to arrive with demon hunters rather than with demons, and is there where their advantage lies.

The demon lord is waiting for them the moment they get to the room he keeps the kids in. Kun doesn’t have time to even see his face when Doyoung is throwing himself at him and starting an intense fight. Sicheng curses under his breath and follows Doyoung, with Dejun and Yuta closely.

Shivering and cornered in the end for the room are the three kids, with tears rolling down their cheeks, all beaten up and tightly tied with a thicker rope than the one that kept Ten in place. Suddenly, Kun feels like his clothes and the blood spilled on every part of his body will just scare the kids more, but there are currently three demon hunters and a demon fighting a demon lord, so Kun definitely doesn’t have time to clean his face, he has to get the kids out as soon as possible.

“Hey,” he greets, trying to sound composed. The kids look up at him. Chenle is sobbing and Renjun whines in pain, a deep cut on his cheek. Yangyang is not that bad, but he’s still shaking. “Hey, kids. I know you’re scared, so why don’t we get out of here, hm? Ten is waiting for you outside.”

While he talks he cuts the ropes. He feels the king approaching them, but a strong blow makes him take a few steps back. Kun can almost hear the way Yuta’s bones break the moment he punches the demon lord, but at least he manages to make him move back.

With steady, trained hands, Kun cuts all the ropes and helps the kids stand up. He exchanges a look with Sicheng, who nods once and starts to throw blown after blown and stab after stab towards the demon lord, trying to clear the way for Kun to take the kids outside the room. Doyoung and the rest are quick to follow his example, cornering the king.

The house is shaking violently, probably about to collapse, and the ground is trembling too, so violently Kun can see the little waves it forms with all the powerful movements that are happening in there. The temperature in the room is rising to the point some paintings in the walls catch fire and start to burn. All that, added to how scared they are, and their already weak and shaking legs, results in the kids not being able to even support their weight on their own. Kun is starting to panic, but he urges himself to stay calm.

Kun lifts Chenle, who is having trouble to breathe thanks to the smoke and his sobs, and Renjun, whose face is bloody and dirty, and smiles to Yangyang, who is trying his best to keep standing, clutching Kun’s shirt with one of his hands.

“We’re going to have to run, Yangyang. It’s okay, you just have to be very brave. Let’s be brave for your brothers, okay?” he tells the kid, who nods solemnly at the mention of his brothers. “Just don’t let go of my shirt and don’t look back. Your dad waits for us outside.”

It would be easier and quicker to just lift Yangyang too and run. Kun can’t go at the pace he’d like when Yangyang has to keep up with him, but he can’t lift three seven years old boys at once. So Yangyang, the least affected of the children will have to go on his own. Kun knows, however, that it won’t be that big of a problem; he may be young, but he’s a future demon lord. It will take more than some heat and shaking grounds to stop Yangyang. As long as he stays calm enough, Kun is sure Yangyang doesn’t need help to get out of there.

While they run towards the door, of course, the king tries to stop them with balls of fire, balls of dark energy and getting on their way. Fortunately, Kun’s team and Doyoung are quick and prevent any attack from getting too close. By the time they reach the door, Mark and Johnny are already there. Johnny doesn’t say anything, not wasting any second before joining the battle. Mark lifts Yangyang and then he and Kun run faster and don’t stop until they are out. The house is starting to collapse, big pieces of the wall and ceiling falling everywhere, making loud noises that startle and scare the kids even more.

Once Ten has his kids with him, he looks up at Kun, who takes a deep breath before rushing to the basement again, way more calmer now that the kids are safe with Ten under the custody of Mark and Yukhei.

“Kun, what are you doing!?” Ten yells. “The house will collapse!”

He doesn’t bother to respond, just running faster. “The team is still inside,” is all the explanation Mark provides, as if it said everything.

It does. How can Kun stay outside with no specific task when his team was fighting a demon lord? Mark and Yukhei had the order to protect the kids and Ten, but Kun? Kun had to be with his team. To face defeat and death or to bring the demon lord down, Kun had to stand with his family.

The four walls are on fire and the ground is hot. There is blood everywhere and the smoke makes it difficult to see, but everyone is still fighting as if there was no discomfort in their bodies, with all they have. Doyoung leads the fight, but the king is winning.

There is no other place Kun would rather be than standing with this team, to die or to live, but do it by their side.

He joins the fight and the last thing he remembers thinking is a little prayer, asking for things to go right.

…

  
  


_Captain of the unit number 0 “WAYV” specialized in demonic beasts, officially reporting the outcome of the mission to the Clan Leader._

_No Demon Lords were discovered, and the suspected kids turned out to not be related to the previous Demon King. The demonic energy detected came from a haunted house that has been purified and is now spirit-free._

_As a protection measure, I’ve decided to leave two of my most trusted team members guarding the city, which is infested by demonic beasts and restless ghosts. WAYV will come back every few weeks to help clean up the place. With this in mind, and in order for them to focus on their mission with no other worries, I’ve decided to declare both of them as not-active members of the unit and the clan, and therefore the NCT clan does not have a right to contact them in any way. All clarifications and communications will be through me, John Seo, given that I am now the only person they work for._

_With an approximate of four months, no casualties and not having found any trace of a Demon Lord, the special unit WAYV withdraws from the location. With this, we consider the case_ **_closed_ ** _and all the data about this investigation and all their participants (unit members, the kids and the kids' tutor) will be erased to prevent further contact._

_The demon hunter clan, from now on, forgets about these children’s existence._

_General John Seo_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading i love you <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jenosglow)


End file.
